Early M.I.O.M. Camera

My early MIOM camera

This blog is a journey into the world of a camera I stumbled upon during our European escapade last year. Whenever we venture to a new destination, I make it a point to unearth the local flea markets, a treasure trove of unique cameras and photo items that are often elusive in the US. The thrill of discovering these items, especially being on the West Coast, where European finds are a rarity, is an experience in itself. 

 One of my favorite flea markets was just outside Prague, and my wife and I went to it. It was in an industrial area, and we took the train to get to it, but it wasn't so much the cameras and photo items found as the atmosphere of the place that made it memorable. I did find some great cameras there, too, that are harder to find on the West Coast of the US.

 While in Brussels, my wife and I went to a flea market in a square or small park in town. There were about 40-50 vendors there. Most of the items were in boxes with many other items, so you needed to rummage through a lot of items to find what you were looking for. I didn't have much time to look as my wife was under the weather, and it would start to rain later in the morning. I picked up a few Rollei parts for a reasonable and fair price along with this MIOM compact bakelite camera, for which I paid 1-2 euros.

The Company:

Let's delve into the intriguing history of MIOM, a brand that has left an indelible mark on the world of photography. The journey of MIOM begins in 1887 with architect Félicien César and engineer Fabius Henrion, who founded the local lighting distribution company: 'Fabius Henrion et Cie,' with a capital of 100,000 francs in the Nancy and Lorraine region. Despite facing numerous challenges, the company's legacy was preserved when it was acquired by the CGE, Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (General Electric Company), in 1898.

 MIOM, an acronym for Manufacture d'Isolants et Objets Moulés, (Manufacture of Insulators and Molded Objects) was a subsidiary of the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (General Electric Company) which started in 1929. As the MIOM name suggests, It was created to produce electrical components for the company. 

 As photography grew during this time, MIOM created a photographic department in 1937 that molded simple cameras in "Cégéite," which was similar to what we now call bakelite. The name derived from the name of the parent company: the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité.

MIOM's early cameras were very similar to the model I have. They were very flat in appearance and used 127 film to produce 6x4.5cm negatives. Some of the other early models were the Rex and Lec Junior. I believe the model I have is only known as the MIOM, which is printed on the back. There is no camera name produced on the camera like the REX or other cameras of that time.

MIOM Ad in the 1930s

Then, in 1938, the cameras took on a different appearance, resembling the Czechoslovakian Pyonyr cameras, designed by Fritz Kaftanski, who had recently moved to France to get away from the war problems taken on within that region during the late 1930s. It's suspected that Fritz Kaftanski was involved in the design of the newer Photax camera.

 The Photax cameras had a larger negative area, used 620-size film, and produced 6x9cm negatives. The Photax design had a lens that rotated out from the body on a helical and included a very simple shutter that only worked when the lens was in the extended position.

This new system was beneficial to amateur photographers at the time. It prevented the camera from accidentally taking a photo if the lens was retracted. The new Photax camera also included lenses from Boyer, a French optical company that produced wonderful optics.

 Photax cameras were the best-selling cameras in France for 20 years and produced cameras well into the 1960s, with the Photax VI released in 1966. However, like many European camera manufacturers of the era, MIOM faced significant challenges in the 1960s with the rise of Japanese brands such as Nikon, Canon, and Minolta.  

 Today, MIOM's legacy lives on in the vintage camera market, where its models are sought after for their distinctive design and the quality of their optical systems. The story of MIOM reminds us of a golden age in photography when craftsmanship and innovation defined the industry.

My Camera:

This description should be straightforward and short, as this camera is simple without many bells or whistles. However, its simplicity and unique design make it a valuable addition to any vintage camera collection.

 My MIOM camera is 3.5" tall, including the viewfinder, by 5.5" wide, including the strap lugs, and 3" deep, weighing 9.4oz. It is very lightweight and compact. On the front of the camera, there are two shutter options. These settings are on the top and bottom of the 60mm Rexor lens, serial number 3147, on the camera. The camera has a crinkle finish within the acrylic, which makes the gripping easy and somewhat drop proof.

Above the lens are your shutter settings: "I" for instant, which has a shutter speed of approximately 1/50 sec., or "P" (B) for timed photos. Below the lens are two options for aperture settings. Looking online at other information on the Photax camera, the settings are 1 (Grand Diaphragme) for f16 or 2 (Petite Diaphragme) for f22. The words in the paratheses are written inside the camera's back door.

There is no latch or lock to hold the back onto the camera to load the MIOM camera with film. The back is held onto the camera's body with friction, and the back fits snuggly onto the camera's body. On either side of the camera are a couple of protrusions. I put my fingernail in between these nubs and pull, and the back will pull away from the body. You must do this on both sides so as not to crack the plastic and render the camera useless.

Once you get the back off the camera, I notice there are two red dots on the protruding nubs, which indicate which side fits together. The camera winds to the left, so you put the empty spool from the previous 127 rolls from the right side to the left and put the fresh roll of 127 films into the right side. Break the tape on the roll and bring the leader to the empty spool. Thread the leader into the spool slots and wind the film a few turns to ensure the film is lining up on the spool or until you see the arrows on the paper backing pointing outwards. Once you reach this point, it's time to put the back onto the camera. Once the back is on the camera, wind the film until you see the number 1 in the red window. Now you're ready to take the first photo.

 Once you take the photo and wind to the next frame, you'll get eight exposures on each roll of 127 film. Now that all the frames are taken, it's time to take the back off the camera and process your film.

My Results:

For total transparency, I had three rolls of older VP 127 film in my drawer. One roll's expiration date was June 1971. That roll went through the camera fine, but when I rolled the film onto the developing reel, something went array, and the film didn't process correctly. I loaded one of the other two rolls I had left, dated Sep.1968. This roll got jammed within the camera, so I'm unsure if I didn't load it properly or, due to the age of the film, it broke, but the film was very crinkled when I went to process it, and none of the images came out.

 It was an operator malfunction, and I didn't load it properly. Five rolls of film are arriving today from one of my favorite camera stores, Glazer’s Camera, in Seattle, WA, so I'd like to take the film, process it, and scan the images today.

I received the film, loaded the camera, walked through the neighborhood, and took images. Luckily, this roll turned out, and you can see the results below.

My Conclusion.

I'm writing this portion of my conclusion before I have images from the camera, so at this point. In contrast, the camera is compact, and an earlier version of the MIOM cameras made, the film issues have made the experience somewhat frustrating. Once I get the images, I'll complete my conclusion and give you an honest assessment of the camera.

The images confirmed my suspicions. The camera was made to put cameras in the masses hands and for them to go and take photos of friends, family, and memorable moments. This camera did a decent job for a camera almost 90 years old. The plastics are rugged and on my camera, I’m missing the rear viewfinder glass so it was a bit more difficult to fame the images, but overall a decent camera.

 Thank you for taking a few minutes from your day to read about this early version of the MIOM cameras.

 Until next week, please be safe.

Marchand Fischer Baby Camera

Whenever my wife and I visit a foreign city, I check to see if the town or a surrounding city has a Flea Market to check out the local market of used and collectible cameras. This spring, my wife and I returned to Paris, which has a robust and large Flea Market area that thrives on the weekends. 

 

The Flea Market, which comprises smallish stalls selling goods from carpets to antiques and almost anything imaginable, was a used camera store. It was not in the flea market but on one of the main roads surrounding the markets. Looking around the camera store, I noticed that the shop owner had many great cameras, but one that caught my eye was the Fischer Baby camera made by Marchand.

 

The Company:

I don't have much to say here, as I've searched the Internet and cannot find out much about this company. It's most likely because they were a small French company in Charbonnieres, France, after WWII. They produced a minimal amount of toyish cameras in the 1950s sold in toy stores. Due to their build quality, which I'll get into more when I explain the camera below, they were poorly received and, therefore, went out of business.

 If you or anyone who reads this post knows anything about Marchand Co., which produced these cameras, I'd love to know, and I will update the blog post with that information.

The Camera:

There are a few items that drew me to this camera. The faceplate is typical, but it does have a 6 on one side of the lens and 9 on the other. My first thought was that it was a fascinating film format. I'm a real enthusiast of anything panoramic, so this was the first light bulb in my head. Then, when I got closer to the camera and picked it up, the bulbous size and extremely light weight of the camera were pretty fascinating. It has almost a circular look and feel to the camera. Being someone who enjoys panoramic cameras and images, the 6x9 format made this very intriguing.

 

The camera is straightforward and similar to a Box-style camera but even simpler as there is no aperture setting and only two shutter speeds. The Fischer Baby has a very simple shutter with a bulb setting  "P" for time exposures and an "I" setting for instant. The camera's shutter, at least on my camera, "clicks" when you press the shutter button down, which exposes the film, but it does the same thing when you pull the shutter button up to what most people would think it to be the starting position. The shutter speed is about 1/80th sec, and possibly even slower.

Another fascinating point about the camera is how thin the plastic is. It doesn't have a lot of "heft" to it, and it's pretty light—the camera loads like any other simple point-and-shoot style camera from the late 1940s to mid-1950s. There's a red window on the back of the camera so you know when you're at the next frame to take a photo. The transport continues, but you can wind past the next frame if you're not careful.

 The Baby Fischer has no frills in its design. Two clips on the side of the camera keep the front of the camera attached to the back of the camera. There is no locking mechanism, and the clips could open easily, exposing the photos already taken. My camera is missing its strap because one of the eyelets has broken off, which I'd guess is pretty standard due to its build quality.

The Results:

My first impression was that this camera takes 120 film. When I went to load the film, the 120 roll was too big, so I thought this must be a 620 film camera. Its re-spooling capability allows you to re-spool 120 films onto a 620 reel. I found an empty 620 film spool and a 120 roll of T-Max film, put them into my dark bag, and re-spooled the film.

 I had never done this before, and when I took the film out of the dark bag, it looked OK. It was not professionally done, but it was my first time doing so. After loading the film into the camera, I took photos with my second spare 620 spool.

 The results showed that my re-spooling wasn't perfect. In fact, it was poor, as there was some light leakage coming from the end of the spool where the film wasn't tight enough. Other than the light leaks, the results were pretty good.

The Conclusion:

After walking around my backyard and in front, too, the camera could have been better to work with. The viewfinder was challenging to look through and not precisely in its proportions. The winding was OK; you can see the film advance and frame numbers in the red window on the back. Since there wasn't a strap on my camera, I had to carry it, which wasn't uncomfortable, but I was always thinking about not dropping it. I'm glad I did a post on this camera and have already picked the camera for my next post, which will be on the Exakta 66 camera.

 Thank you for reading this post. I appreciate your time. Until the next post, please be safe and well.